When it’s time for me to have my beloved bath, all stress, worries and thoughts go out the window, so I can lay back, and embrace the luxurious products and smells that I am surrounded by in my bath

I am always on the look out for different bath bombs, oil’s, potions and lotions to make my already lovely bathing experience even more special !

I have put together some of my favourite bathing buddies !

3. The comforter – lush ($10.50)

This is a bath melt which you crumble into the bath, and it bubbles up the water into a luxurious foam
It smells of rich blackcurrant which is my favourite smell!
Blackcurrant oil is rich in gamma linolenic acid which acts as an antioxident, anti inflammatory and cell regulator.
This is a beautiful product which I use for nights when I’m feeling sluggish and tired!

2. Marshmallow bath – Mor ($49.95)

This beautifully silky bathing elixir is a definite treat to bath in!
If you like softly sweet scents like marshmallow than this is the one for you !
It feels like your lying in a bath of rocky road, and is highly hydrating! This is not a formula easily made at home, quite sophisticated and feels that way too!

3. Almond coconut milk bath- Laura Mercier ($49.00)

This easily takes the top spot for being an amazing bath experience! Indulge in what smells like the best dessert of your life. I don’t know how they have created this decadent smell, but it smells like a gourmet dessert from an expensive restaurant ! This bubbles up and is accompanied by lots of oat proteins to calm and sooth irritated skin, it has a nice hint of vitamins as well which really tops this product off and wins my top pick! Have a smell of this one next time your at the Laura counter !

You could be accelerating the ageing process and not even know about it!

There are little things that we do everyday that contribute to ageing too soon

Most of it we CAN prevent and take steps to make ageing less severe !

Here are some of the common habits we do every day…

1. Overdoing It.

-We tend to think that more is less and that we should wash our face as much as possible and apply as much product as possible.. It is very much the opposite.

We need to avoid washing our face too much, and let our skins natural oils do their job of protecting our skin, because no moisturiser can compare.
Limit washing your face to once a day. (end of the day) and splash it with water in the morning without product.

Use a cold cream, or (soap free) light lotion cleanser to keep your skin’s natural oils as in tact as possible.

2. Avoid hot water!

– Avoid washing your face in the shower if the water is hot, this can not only severely dry out your skin but also make your skin break out unexpectedly.

Drying out your skin results in lost lipids and ceramides leaving the under layers of your skin unprotected resulting in collagen and elastin breakdown.

The same goes for hot baths, the steam is enough to dry out your skin severely so keep it warm or keep it to 10 to 15 minutes tops! (Oh how I love my baths)

3. Don’t be so rough!

– avoid rubbing your face with a towel after showering, and being too rough with your cleanser (or any other product).

Pat your face dry gently with a towel and don’t pull it around.
Our skin is so precious and fragile, even if we can’t feel it being damaged or becoming inflamed, every pull and stretch that we do is stretching the elastin in our skin, making it more prone to sagging later on.
(This goes for sleeping on your face as well)

4. Don’t pull faces!

-yes, life is short and we should laugh as much as possible, but these expressions will take hold of our appearance before we know it, you can laugh as much as you want, but think about those lines before you make a habit of pulling funny faces.

5. Sun Care

– most people would know about this by now, and can’t be said enough that this will cause ageing so silently that no one believes the facts about sun damage until they see the results.

Spf 15 is acceptable, but it is always better to go higher! (Spf30+)
And remember to look for “broad spectrum” on the product or it is no good.

Scary stuff!

What are your tips and tricks to keeping yourself that little bit younger everyday?

Something I find quite often when I look at a toners formula is that they are very cheap when it comes to a good amount of ingredients , and after all, you don’t want to pay 30 to 40 dollars for a bottle of water and some glitter in it.. Right ?

So here are some things to look for in a toner !

-antioxidants are a must! And there should be lots if you are going to tone at all
-avoid alcohol as the 1st or second ingredient (mostly alcohol denat)
-look for skin identical ingredients such as glycerin , or cholesterol for better value
-make sure it suits YOUR skin type so it balances your skins oil flow/dryness evenly.
-an exfoliating toner (a.h.a or b.h.a) can be a great addition to an oily skins regime

So whether you need a toner in your regime is really up to , and whether your skin needs something extra or you need to refine more oil after cleansing!

Choose wisely and if it smells like last weekends bottle of vodka … Don’t use it!

Being a skincare fanatic, and also being a male, I am well aware of the marketing traps and have often found myself falling for the mens lines and product offerings in the past.

I have spoken before about how irritation in the skin, no matter how little, causes collagen and elastin deterioration, and how it prevents the skin from repairing itself and leads to permanently sensitized skin and possibly rosacea!

-I have to begin by saying. NOT ALL mens skincare lines have bad ingredients, but I have decided to write this article because more often than not many company’s are producing weak, dumbed down versions of the woman’s formulations, when a mans skin needs just as much protection as a woman’s!

So the real question is… Does a mans skin differ from a woman’s skin?

Research shows that a mans skin is generally thicker than a woman’s skin, resulting in more active sebaceous glands (oil).But that doesn’t mean that a mans skin needs anything different than a woman’s (ingredients wise), it just means that the texture of the product should be different depending on your skin type .

i.e. If you have oily skin, use a light lotion, if you have dry skin, use a cream!

NOT ALL men have oily skin, my skin is normal and I shouldn’t use oil free products! My skin needs moisture and will age if I don’t provide it with such, the same goes for every other man.

Many mens skin care lines also miss out on the one important anti-aging ingredient. You guessed it. SPF!!
This is quite common as men don’t like the greasy feel on their face that spf often provides.
They like the feel of a weightless finish with a masculine and earthy smell.

-most products are VERY high in
alcohol as men love a non greasier finish.

-some of the products contain ingredients which temporarily tighten the skin, damaging elastin.

I have found many mens skincare lines make the same mistakes with their formulations!

Are there any mens lines I don’t bag? Well yes actually!

“Lab Series For Men” is a fantastic line of skincare aimed at men (but woman can use too!)
It contains heaps of antioxidants, spf, vitamins A, C and E and many more ingredients to keep our skin well protected from environmental assaults! ( fragrance free as well! )

So if your man (or yourself) MUST use a skincare in packaging designed for men than this is one line to definitely consider!

There is no available evidence stating that a mans skin needs any thing different than a woman’s skin. We all need as much protection as we can get, just like our diet can do with as many nutrients as possible!

So next time you take your hubby to the cosmetics counters with you for a new face cream/cleanser, avoid the mens lines and lead him to your favourite counter and make sure he is getting the same gold treatment for his skin that you are getting for yours !